no disc back plates is not a mot failure

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mercmancdi

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 18, 2012
Messages
1,198
Location
Templepatrick
Car
mercedes E320 cdi sport ,vw Tiguan R line , M B cls , bmw convertible
Took front back plates / disc covers
Off clk today and a indi Mb guy said throw them away they only gather muck hold damp and destroys abs sensors etc and they ARE NOT a failure if they are off , they are only a mot failure if fitted and rusted.
Thoughts please.
Pair new ones £72
 
Makes you wonder why highly skilled and experienced engineers and designers waste their time putting them on in the first place.
Makes you wonder why if they're that important the highly skilled and experienced engineers and designers allow them to rust!
 
Aren't they meany to protect the discs from stones and debris?
 
Mine are imperative as they help prevent chipping but then they are ceramic. All the 'shite' they accumulate would be on the disc instead. I would replace, £72 for the pair isn't bad (mine are £200-£330 EACH)
 
I've been missing a front one on my 968 cab for about 5 years now, never been mentioned on her MoT tests, she's passed every time!
 
I cannot see any reason why a vehicle should fail a test for not having back plates.
Brakes still work according to specification and will continue to do so.
Are brake pipes, retaining springs and sensor cables still adequately-supported ?
If so, then I see no problem.
 
They can be a good first line of defense to save a burst cv joint throwing grease onto your brake disc
 
No CV joint on the front of a RWD Mercedes though ;)
 
Not on them all, on the W211 you have to remove the wheel hub to get the back plate off, a real pain in the backside.

Now that is definitely a lot of work!
 
On the web there are photos and drawings of how and where to cut then to get them to fit (on some models) Mainly on the rears, I believe some MB require the wheel bearing to come off ....which destroys it and turns the whole exercise into an expensive snowball of a job, discs/pads/handbrake/wheel bearings/brake hoses....

Why do manufacturers skimp (ok , I know why ££££) on these parts? Make them out of stainless steel and forget about them.
 
[QUOTE="Petrol Pete, post: 2748483, member:
You're right Pete.
On older cars, back-plates rot like hell and are so-often a pig to change.
In the past, I've often had older cars where the back-plates were necessary for the functioning of the brakes.
There have been some difficult decisions ... Can I save them - or - Do I really have to replace ?
 
On older cars if they could not realistically be painted with Hammerite when off the car they didn't go back on.
 
The proper solution would be to cut a quadrant out of the new ones and weld a plate behind the cut part so it could be screwed back on.
 
I think on some modern cars the back plate is used to secure one end of the handbrake return spring. No back plate = no handbrake.
 

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